{"id":4397,"date":"2012-10-11T14:32:12","date_gmt":"2012-10-11T14:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltchat.org\/wordpress\/?p=4397"},"modified":"2012-10-11T14:32:12","modified_gmt":"2012-10-11T14:32:12","slug":"do-you-or-dont-you-drill-an-eltchat-summary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/2012\/10\/11\/do-you-or-dont-you-drill-an-eltchat-summary\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Do you or don\u2019t you drill?\u2019 \u2013 An #eltchat summary"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>ELTCHAT SUMMARY: \u2018Do you or don\u2019t you drill?\u2019\u00a0(27<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0June 2012) first published on Shaun Wilden\u2019s blog and reposted here with his kind permission.<\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This is a summary of the eltchat held on 27<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0June 2012 the full topic was \u201cWhat is, or should be, the role of drilling in the classroom?\u201d<\/p>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Do you drill? \u00a0Let\u2019s canvass some opinions\u2026.<\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I used drilling on my CELTA but rarely used it since \u2013 not sure I know why\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI think drilling is a good idea, but in practice I don\u2019t use it nearly enough!\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI tend to drill more with individual sts or small groups rather than choral drilling in a big class.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cIn recent observations of ESOL teachers over three years NEVER saw drilling\u2026why?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI worry sts will hate it- but I KNOW as a learner I love it.\u201d\u201cI loathe &amp; detest but recognise it has a place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hmm so not an overly used technique then could this be why?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cnot a respected strategy\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cdrilling still heavily associated with behaviourism and so looked down on as not communicative\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cbad rep? No \u2013 thought of as not cutting edge? Yes. In the world of tech, many see it as no use I guess\u201d<br \/>\nand during in the chat drilling was referred to as \u2018ugly\u2019 and \u2018bad\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why should we drill?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI think drilling can really help with confidence, particularly at low levels.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Drilling essential for pronunciation practice, it can be a great way to help students to notice features such as stress timing, lost sounds, nuance, etc<\/li>\n<li>Drilling helps with the automatisation of chunks, repetition helps memory and memorizing is sth we do so we should try and foster this in sts.<\/li>\n<li>It can be great way to get sts attention<\/li>\n<li>Drilling is something we do naturally and in real life. For example the mental rehearsal before speaking in a foreign lang especially if not a fluent speaker. People repeat words in their head when they discover a new one.<\/li>\n<li>Drilling can be seen as a step towards fluency.<\/li>\n<li>Rather than frightening introverted sts it gives them a chance to hide in a group and gives everyone confidence letting them repeat things.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>How should we go about drilling?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Done well, drilling can be fun and help with good group feeling. However, if done badly, has the opposite effect. The teacher needs to embrace it fully for it to work well, they need to believe in it not do it half halfheartedly. They must also be prepared to make a bit of a fool of themselves! When done heeding this advice, drilling has the ability to engage and energize a class. Remember, drill the language not the students and don\u2019t over do it, be selective in what you drill. Keep it challenging to keep sts interest and they should feel they need it. Drills can be seen as a game, can be challenging to students and seen as useful.<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>What about correction?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Teachers have to actually listen to sts while drilling to try and diagnose problems and provide corrective feedback \u2013 not just drill for the sake of it. Make a mental note of that phoneme\/word\/etc. and do further work on it<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Drilling and 1:1<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s harder to use drills in 1:1 classes, they can stop and ask a question, however I find 1:1s less embarrassed about drilling especially for pronunciation because they can really concentrate on and practice the sound.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Types of drill \u00a0&#8211; Variety is key to keeping sts engaged<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[Note links added by summariser]<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.teachingenglish.org.uk\/knowledge-database\/substitution-drill\">Substitutions drills<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.google.co.uk\/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=transformation%20drills&amp;source=web&amp;cd=4&amp;ved=0CF0QFjAD&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.migrant.net%2Fmigrant%2FPocketPrompts%2Fpage3.pdf&amp;ei=0wH7T4-ZBs6b8gPBp8GGBw&amp;usg=AFQjCNFWMKhS5cZa4u5SCTUql-8800apBA\">Transformation drills<\/a><\/li>\n<li>intonation banana drilling \u00a0&#8211; only word you can say is banana to express idea about a given topic. For more info on how this works, tweet\u00a0 @ bcnpaul1<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.manythings.org\/pp\/\">Tongue twisters<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.teachingenglish.org.uk\/articles\/drilling-2\">Shouting Drills<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Dialogue builds \u2013 tweet @ teflerinha<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.developingteachers.com\/tips\/pasttips8.htm\">Mumble drills<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Silent (mumble) drilling and changing emotions can also be engaging, useful and good practice. Silent drilling also be useful to get students to focus on facial shapes for pronunciation details? (tongue position, lips)<\/li>\n<li>Games like \u201cI went to the market &amp; bought\u2026.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.teachingenglish.org.uk\/knowledge-database\/backchaining\">Backchaining<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Human computer is a good one too, let\u2019s students hear the difference and then try it for themselves. How about \u2018human computer\u2019?\u00a0 St says something, and T repeats (correcting) \u2013 so a reverse drill, in a way<\/li>\n<li>For grammar (change tenses ) , word order (w\/ word prompts), questions forms (answer prompts) lots of stuff<\/li>\n<li>Think we can do a lot by getting sts to listen (+repeat silently, subvocalise) rather than repeat<\/li>\n<li>Say the stressed words and leave space (silence) for unstressed. Or simply say stressed words in time.<\/li>\n<li>Rather than just repeat change the phrase\/sentence slightly, give lots of prompts\/signals \u2013 then more than just repeat.<\/li>\n<li>A fun activity is humming short dialogues \u201chello how\u2019re you?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Drills in more advanced classes with native accents (pretend to be queen, yorkshire man, etc) can be fun way\u00a0 retaining chunk<\/li>\n<li>Apps like\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/gb\/app\/talking-tom-cat\/id377194688?mt=8\">Talking tom<\/a>\u00a0and things like sock puppets can \u2018force\u2019 sts to repeat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Some Reading\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/scottthornbury.wordpress.com\/2009\/12\/08\/d-is-for-drills\/#comments\">http:\/\/scottthornbury.wordpress.com\/2009\/12\/08\/d-is-for-drills\/#comments<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/0QSoesmq\">http:\/\/t.co\/0QSoesmq<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/tYYofQHC\">http:\/\/t.co\/tYYofQHC\u00a0<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/THCbzWbt\">http:\/\/t.co\/THCbzWbt<\/a><br \/>\nThis is a nice vid on drilling for stress timing <a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/cU7Y9ml0\">http:\/\/t.co\/cU7Y9ml0<\/a> #eltchat<br \/>\nJamie Keddie does a great jazz chant using this video \u2013 fun <a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/ZvZW0XvR\">http:\/\/t.co\/ZvZW0XvR<\/a> #eltchat<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/TOs2LBar\">http:\/\/t.co\/TOs2LBar<\/a> #ELTChat<br \/>\nLee Shutler on drilling :\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/9Bo6pGqq\">http:\/\/t.co\/9Bo6pGqq<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/iteslj.org\/Techniques\/Mumford-Drilling.html\">http:\/\/iteslj.org\/Techniques\/Mumford-Drilling.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/iteslj.org\/Techniques\/Mumford-Drilling.html\">htmlhttp:\/\/eltnotebook.blogspot.co.uk\/search?q=drilling<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The cast list for this #eltchat included:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong><br \/>\nAntoniaclare, bcnpaul1, BrunoELT, BobK99, ChrisOzog, Eltnotebook, ElkySmith, englishraven, Feedtheteacher, fit_star, esolcourses, harrisonmike, hpratt01, ingramanna , KariDalane, Jobethsteel, JoHart, louisealix68, mark_arthur, MrChrisJWilson, Michaelegriffin, MissLadyCaz, OUPELTGlobal, oyajimbo, Rliberni, Shaunwilden, teflerinha, theteacherjames, Worldteacher, YeldaEryilmaz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ELTCHAT SUMMARY: \u2018Do you or don\u2019t you drill?\u2019\u00a0(27th\u00a0June 2012) first published on Shaun Wilden\u2019s blog and reposted here with his kind permission. &nbsp; This is a summary of the eltchat held on 27th\u00a0June 2012 the full topic was \u201cWhat is, or should be, the role of drilling in the classroom?\u201d &nbsp; Do you drill? \u00a0Let\u2019s&hellip; <br \/> <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/2012\/10\/11\/do-you-or-dont-you-drill-an-eltchat-summary\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-summary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4397\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}